Adding uncharacteristic, and shyly controversial, color to a mundane office tool, Microsoft -- with (lots of!!!) help from Creature -- repositions the server as a domesticated animal.

The idea is that a stay-at-home server better assists remote knowledge workers in a more productive environment -- at home (a truly revolutionary idea, yada yada). The campaign also draws parallels between servers and stay-at-home dads. This side-snicker take on real-life issues reminds us a little of early Vista efforts.

See microsite. Promotional material also includes a book entitled Mommy, Why is There a Server in the House?, for sale on Amazon.

We can't help but notice Dell is using its XPS model to (ever so innocuously) try repositioning its brand as a whole.

For this decidedly complicated gig, it enlisted Mother, NY, which in August demanded that we reconcile a passel of mod devotchkas to our mental image of Dell. It was a brave and interesting effort, but an ultimately unconvincing one.

Looking to sip a pop while engaging in island frivolity? Look no further than CC Metro, an entertainment-filled virtual isle on There.com, courtesy of Coca-Cola.

The island will be Coke bottle-shaped and features music, games and other piped-in stuff that execs think will draw hipsters to the flame. Better yet, they've come up with a new buzzword (because "virtual island" is so passe): "realistic environment."

That sounds almost like something that wants to be confused for real life, except it can't be, because it isn't.

Hey kids! Guess what? If you study hard and get good grades, guess what you'll get? No, not a college scholarship, sillys. That would be too boring. No, if you get good grades on your report card, you'll get a Happy Meal coupon on the card that you can use to get fat...uh...have a free lunch.

Yea, people, you read that right. In-school advertising's idiocy has spread to report cards. Yes, report cards. For covering the paltry $1,600 printing cost of Seminole County Florida's 2007-2008 report cards, McDonald's was able to place the coupon on the report cards of kids who received all A's and B's. Yes, you also read that right. Only smart kids are allowed to get fat.

Here are a couple of ads (Grip and Voyage) that promote the grips on Coke bottles. They involve a friendly green octopus that adds grip to the bottles with help from its handy-dandy suction cups.

Any campaign that improves the reputation of octopuses to children is a great campaign in our opinion, because we think they're a grossly underrated sea creature. (And to think -- every re-airing of The Little Mermaid will undo all this fine work.)

On the other hand, these might just freak people out and get them all sketchy about touching textured Coke bottles.

Here's a Vodafone ad by BBH, London. The premise is that Vodafone can turn our accumulated in-between time into something truly meaningful.

We're pleased to say the ad itself surprised us. Not in that ostentatious way where you're like, "Hey, I thought there was sex involved but it was just somebody getting tattooed!" or "Hey, I never would have guessed that sex scene was going to devolve into slapstick comedy about sensitive teeth!"

We heard about this guy at our local mall who, under the guise of shoe shopping for his wife, convinced women to let him examine their shoes up close. Then, while they were primping and posing for him, he'd tear their shoes off and start sucking on their toes.

Eventually, this man was caught.

We're bringing this up because in early '08, Shoetube.tv will be launching.